Equipment

Definitive Technology is one of my favorite loudspeaker manufacturers -- not only because the company is innovative, but because its speaker line consists of models that punch way above their price class. Not many other speakers costing only $1998 USD per pair can boast the full-range performance of my reference DefTech BP-8060ST towers. Not only that, they sound fantastic throughout their 20Hz-30kHz frequency response, and their footprint is very small. What’s not to like?

One of my least favorite consumer-electronics categories is computer speakers -- to me, almost all of them sound bad. I remember hooking up a pair of plastic computer speakers through 1/8” minijacks to my computer’s soundcard -- an experience memorable for all the wrong reasons. So when Editor-in-Chief Jeff Fritz asked if I wanted to review Definitive Technology’s Inclines, I was at first apprehensive when I heard the phrase desktop speakers -- it sounded to me like computer speakers. But this was Definitive Technology, and I was intrigued to hear what the company could do in this category. And the Incline’s price of $399/pair set my expectations high.

Oppo Digital is best known in North America as a manufacturer of high-quality DVD and Blu-ray players. In fact, many reviewers will suggest that consumers interested in disc players start, and usually end, their search with a model from Oppo. And in 2014, Oppo entered the thriving personal-audio arena with a DAC-headphone amplifier, the HA-1 ($1199 USD), and two headphone models: the PM-2 ($699) and the subject of this review, the PM-1 ($1099).

Description

Like the very well-regarded models from Audeze and HiFiMAN, Oppo’s PM models are planar-magnetic designs. As in dynamic loudspeakers, the drivers in dynamic headphones consist of a conical or dome-shaped diaphragm with a coil of wire affixed to it, this assembly sitting in front of a permanent magnet. Current passing through the coil induces a magnetic force that interacts with the magnet to drive the coil and diaphragm back and forth. In a planar-magnetic driver, a conductive path is bonded directly to a thin membrane, which is placed in a field generated by multiple permanent magnets, usually placed on both sides of the diaphragm. Current along the conductive path again creates magnetic flux to move the diaphragm. All else being equal, the lower mass of the planar-magnetic diaphragm will let it respond more quickly and accurately than a dynamic driver. Driving the planar-magnetic diaphragm over its entire area also reduces breakup modes, improves phase coherence, and reduces distortion. The diaphragms of planar magnetics also tend to be larger than those found in dynamic headphones, which means they will move more air for a given displacement. The PM-1s’ oval diaphragms each measure 85 x 69mm, giving them a radiating area nearly four times that of a 40mm circular diaphragm, and 15% larger than that of the Audeze headphones.

Astell&Kern has made quite a rumble with its earlier models of portable media players, the AK100 and AK120. With the AK240 they’ve created a model that seems to know no bounds. It’s a high-quality piece that you won’t be ashamed to plug into your main audio system, yet you can carry it with you almost anywhere. And it costs a bundle -- $2499 USD.

Description

Inside a classy black slipcase of construction paper is a box of black wood, and nestled inside that is the Astell&Kern AK240. Printed on the back of the slipcase, in lieu of the usual ad copy, are, in several languages, a brief description of the AK240 and its specifications. Lifting the player out of the box reveals two compartments. In one is a leather case; in the other are a USB-to-USB Micro charging cord a little over 3’ long, a quick-start guide, and warranty information, the latter in very small type that I found hard to read without a magnifying glass. There’s no printed instruction manual -- you have to go online and download it. One year (90 days for accessories) seems an awfully short warranty period for such an expensive portable media device.

The case is made of Minerva leather, tanned in Italy, and carries an official seal and certificate number to guarantee its authenticity. As it ages, it reveals unique veins and wrinkles, and feels soft yet durable in the hand. What impressed me most was that, even after I’d removed and reinserted the AK240 in its case a dozen times, it still fit the AK240 like a glove; it hadn’t stretched.

New Acoustic Dimension, aka NAD, is a brand well known to audiophiles. Beginning in the late 1970s with the 3020 integrated amplifier, the once-British, now-Canadian company has developed a reputation for solid-performing, high-value electronics. Like many other manufacturers, NAD is now moving beyond its traditional two-channel audio and home-theater products to address, with its Viso products, the booming market of compact desktop and personal audio gear. A recent addition to the range are the HP50 headphones ($299 USD).

Why is an electronics company making headphones? NAD is part of the Lenbrook Group, which also includes loudspeaker manufacturer PSB. The HP50 shares its DNA with PSB’s well-regarded M4U 1 and M4U 2 headphones, which designer Paul Barton developed using the resources available at Canada’s National Research Council.

Bowers & Wilkins, the iconic British speaker manufacturer, made their first foray into nontraditional hi-fi with the Zeppelin iPod speaker dock. That product was a great success with their established customers who wanted a small and simple one-box system for a second room, but perhaps more important, it introduced the brand to a whole new demographic. In 2010, B&W unveiled their first headphone design, the P5, which also proved successful with critics and consumers. They followed that up in 2011 with the in-ear C5, which included some genuine innovations in terms of both fit and sound signature. In 2012 came the lightweight, on-ear P3, and in late 2013 B&W introduced their first full-sized, over-the-ear headphone model, the P7, which retails for $399.99 USD.

Description

Bowers & Wilkins’ industrial-design team knows not only how to make an attractive product, but also the importance of unified brand styling. In many ways, the P7s look like a bigger version of the P3s. The rounded, oblong earcups are leather wrapped, and the brushed-aluminum metal ovals that extend out from the center of each have black-anodized end caps with the "Bowers and Wilkins" name engraved. A pair of stiff, stainless-steel wires swoop back and up to connect the earcups to the headband via sturdy metal hinges that allow the cups to fold up for carriage. This arrangement makes for minimal materials and clutter, without the headphones feeling at all fragile. Instead of a plastic case, B&W provides a semirigid pouch that is leatherette on the outside and quilted inside. Taste in such things varies, but I found the total P7 package classier than that of any of its competitors that I’ve seen.

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about my CD collection. Even after tossing jewel boxes, tray cards, and booklets -- and, after ripping them -- I still have a lot of CDs. But basically, they’re worthless -- except to me. Then there’s the collection of songs stored on my computer. They’re mostly Apple Lossless files, but also 256kbps MP3s I’ve purchased, and even some AAC files ripped at 128kbps before I knew better, and at every rate in between. I think a lot about that collection, too. I also think a lot about putting my collections aside in favor of a streaming service, such as Spotify, which would allow me to act on my impulses to hear albums or songs I don’t own, but would discourage me from spending needlessly to achieve the same goal. J&R Music World is closed, and I don’t feel so good myself.

Apparently, Simon Lee of April Music, in South Korea, thinks about these things too. Because with his newly improved Aura Note “all-in-one music center,” the V2, he’s thought of just about everything.

Audio Performance AF140 measurements can be found by clicking this link.

June 2014

The headphone biz sure has changed in the last few years. Obviously, lots of companies have been getting into it, but that was 2011’s trend. Today’s trend involves what’s been happening to those companies that have been at it since then. Some of them are getting better.

It’s no secret that many, perhaps most, companies that have recently entered the headphone market began by slapping their logos on models made by some faceless original design manufacturer (ODM) no consumer in the Western Hemisphere has ever heard of. What’s happening now is that some of those companies have decided that, in order to compete, they have to get serious. Mass-marketers such as Beats, House of Marley, Skullcandy, and others have brought in heavy-duty engineering talent and spent tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars on test equipment. As a result, their ’phones are getting better, with a more consistent “house sound.”

I don’t know if or how Audiofly has added to its engineering resources over the last few years, but it’s obvious that this Australian company has learned a lot since it entered the market in 2011. Its first earphones had an appealing industrial design and pretty good sound overall, but I found that their sonic signature varied from model to model.

The French company Focal may be best known to audiophiles on this side of the pond for their flagship Utopia line of loudspeakers, formerly sold under the JMlab brand -- but this large hi-fi company has, for decades, been manufacturing a full range of loudspeakers, from the very affordable to the ultra expensive.

While continuing to serve its core market of speakers for two-channel and home-theater systems, Focal has more recently embraced small desktop speaker systems and headphones. Their first headphone model, the Spirit One ($279.99 USD), is a compact, sound-isolating design with a warmish sound, and some extra bass to compete with ambient noise. In late 2013, Focal introduced two new headphones: The Spirit Professional ($349) is built to take the abuse of the pro-audio world and render a flat, detailed sound, while the subject of this review, the Spirit Classic ($399), was designed both ergonomically and sonically for audiophile listening at home.

At CanJam 2009, in Los Angeles, Alexander Rosson and Sankar Thiagasamudram showed off a new headphone prototype. Two things made these headphones stand out from the variety of do-it-yourself contrivances usually found at CanJam: though Rosson and Thiagasamudram used a commercially available enclosure, the driver was entirely their own -- a rather rare planar-magnetic design. By the end of that year, the two had organized themselves into a company they named Audeze (pronounced Odyssey) and come out with their first salable product -- the LCD-1 headphones.

In 2010 the LCD-2 ($1145 USD) was introduced, and that’s when the headphone community and professional reviewers really began to take notice. Not only was the sound surprisingly good for a product from a brand-new company, it was something very different from what other headphones offered: denser, more robust, and comfortably warm. The next few years saw incremental changes to the LCD-2 and the launch of the higher-end LCD-3 ($1945), which has a thinner, lighter diaphragm and is claimed to sound more transparent. The latest creation from Audeze, debuted at the 2013 Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, is the LCD-X ($1699).

The planar-magnetic driver might need a bit of explanation. The drivers in typical dynamic headphones are similar to those of conventional loudspeakers: a dome-shaped diaphragm with a voice coil affixed to it. Current flowing through the wire induces a magnetic field, which interacts with the field of a permanent magnet placed behind the coil -- the electromagnetic force causes the diaphragm to move back and forth, and the resulting compression and rarefaction of air produces soundwaves.

Established in 1994 in Vicenza, Italy, Pathos Acoustics has become widely known as an innovative manufacturer of fine audio electronics with stunning industrial designs that are as eye-catching as their sound is wondrous. Guided by a design philosophy that declares that each new product must have a technical advantage over similar gear in its category, as well as an arresting look that announces it as something unique, every Pathos model exudes postmodern Italian sophistication.

When I visited Pathos for SoundStage! Hi-Fi in September 2007, I saw this rigorous standard applied to each product made, and came away impressed with the company and the leadership of its founders: research-and-development director Giovanni Borinato; Gaetano Zanini, who fine-tunes the products and is responsible for production; and industrial designer Paolo Andriolo. It was a treat to witness Pathos’s meticulous manufacturing processes: the exposed inner complexity of the Endorphin CD player (like a pod of Abu-Dhabi condos), heatsinks being cut and polished, a case being machined for the gorgeous InPol2 amplifier.

So when SoundStage! Network publisher Doug Schneider asked, soon after the 2013 Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, if I’d be interested in reviewing the new Aurium headphone amplifier ($1495 USD), I jumped at the chance, not only already confident in the quality of the product but also intrigued that, after 20 years in mainstream audio, Pathos was now expanding into head-fi. I expected to be delightfully surprised.